The Daily times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1886-1889, 1887-12-01
FIGHT WITH THE DEVIL.

ola Fundy was well digger The
.-.ster part 81 his life was spent IN the
hoocls u the earth. and when he was on
n. surface he went about with his head
h.,,.el and his ewes fixed on the ground,
y though he was seeking hole big
.,orrh for him 20 crawl into and burrOw
Itea mole. rs his natural propensity sug
.g.,ed When he was digging n well he
simos, lived IN IL, going down early in the
earning. taking his dinner with him and
SAVING there all day.
ne was dark skinned, grim old man,
with straight black hair, stre0kcd with
rrav "a face peppered over with little blue
,oo,s-the effects Of the premature explO-
non ~ a blast--and black eyes that seemed
o. avoid the glazing light Of the sun.
How he got the name Of Fundy is not
positively known-f0r that was not his
real name-butit may have been bestowed
upon him by some classical wag, who ia
virtue u his occupation, christcned him
De Profundis which being shortened TO
Funds eventually became Fundy
The negroes regarded him with a feel
lne somewhat akin 20 awe, ayerring that
be had actually had a peep into his satanic
majcsfy's dominiOns, and they we're wont
90 say in a mysterious whisper. ode deb
be j git dat ole Fundy yit-allcrs q dig
gin en- diggin', tryin tir git deeper n
deeper lie drap trough some desc days
au fin hcsc'f IN hell, sho "
This idea was rather encouraged 10y the
fact that the OLD man, who seldom had q
word 10 say TO anybody when hc was
above ground. kept zap % constant NUT
terug and growing, interminsicd WIN
much profanity, when be got few feet
beneath the earth's surface, and the
deeper he got the more garrulOus and pro
fame he became which led The supersti
tous darkiCs TO believe that be held con-
verse with the boss devil himself
When ho bad q well 10 sink he spent q
day searching over the ground for q spot
chat he deemed favorable for Che purpose
never adopting the many tricks that we'll
q. gers generally resort 20 10 find water
as they say, and while he paced slowly
around, stopping now and then and NUT
urug 90 himself the negroes, who were
watching him from little distance
would say. DE ole black man deyiD
rrht 0nder i'm now; he talkin ter Jim;
w0uner wy he don't tell i'm right of
whr de bees es' water. reckon dcy lief
Ger mcke o barg'i n fus''
They didn't dare speak 20 the old man
while De was thus engaged, and when he
had selected a spot suitable for bis pur-
pose. Doe would mark 10 with stake and
go away, and then they would go and lay
thcIr ears on the ground and fancy they
c0o hear the sound of rushing water
0ly or sixty feet below.
Umphr they would say "de dcbbic
he know an bout 10. en- be tell i'm w en
b. done mcke i'm sw ar s0mcp n-dat
watuis DE dcbbcl belong ter dat ole
Mndy now. but bimeby he belong ter dc
deubel. fur sh0
Exactly three days later the well dig
coi would return at daybrcak and begin
work marking of q square and setting
20 with pick aud spade as If he were going
90 penetrate The very center of the globe
This exact period Of three days inter
yenug between the choice Of ground and
ue beginning Of labor was another cause
Of suDerstitous conjecture among the ne
groc.
Dat WIS part NV dc bargn. III he
bergIn any sooner ur any later somcpn
cw.ne ter happn ter i'm. Dat dc rcls.n
he wus blowed up onct-he din'n' keep
Ger dc bargin.
Fundy would work away by himself,
grumbling and growing as he went down,
until he got too deep To thrown out the
soil with his spade. aud then he would
ur his wiudlass and accompanying rope
and tub, and some man belonging TO the
place where be was working would assist
him
lie had sunk a well on the plantation
% d gentleman living some miles from
A. Forty feet down he had struck
% VEN Of good water and was preparing
90 begin the cur0lng the bricks used for
that purpose lying about in piles among
the heaps OF clay, stone and other debris
that had been hauled up In the tub.
The negro who was assisting him came
as usual, little after dawn, and was
surprised 10 find that the old man was
not there.
Il wonner whar dat ole Fundy dis
mornin'Y" he said looking around. "W 'at
DAFT" His ears had caught a peculiar
sound coming, apparently, from the well
AMI Doe went and leaned over it, placing
h.. hands ON the wndlass 20 support him
s.f After q few minutes listening My
g4wdcrmightyw he exclaimed, dc deb
t.l done got i'm dis time, shON and then
Dr. ran on 90 the negro quarters, whence
iu q little while he returned, accompanied
ty dozen OF more O,aer negroes, all talk
ing yehemeutly.
] tell yer dc debbel done got i'm, ~ said
De who had made the discovery; II hcercd
ann down dar jis' a-nghtin' Ole Fundy
was cussin' en- dc bebbel wus iis' assay
ln bah-bah.
How yer know de debbcl talk dat
away asked one of his comrades.
Gaze l knows he does; amt he got
horns en- huils"
That seemed to settle the question, and
thcy al approached the well, some Of
um leaning over it
You hear dat" said the same speaker
.j.s' Nsrn! Did auybOdy uycr hear SIGH
russinY In jis' l.st'n ter dc dcObcl lie
dom k.or muffin bout he cussin'; rechin
helhe um-meke 'um tote easy
My luthrn. " said one Of the darLles'
whowas o. sort OF preacher, chow of'n hes
toll yer yer better putt d bride on yer
tongue ar halter round yer neck wen
Use heard yer q ialsin' Their Lawds name
in vain Now tack warnin' by dis here
'samplc-d.s here ole man. watts dc or
fllcs' cussu' man cs uyCr WIS. De deb